


You Are Here: Scenes From Two Countries

by mybrainproblems



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: EreRi Week 2016, Israeli Levi, Jewish Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), M/M, Muslim Eren, New York City, Non-Linear Narrative, Tokyo (City), Turkish Eren Yeager
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-06-07 01:57:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6780721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mybrainproblems/pseuds/mybrainproblems
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six languages. Four passports. Two people. One home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Are Here: Scenes From Two Countries

**Author's Note:**

> I cannot even begin to thank Nin enough for her support and for putting up with all of my odd questions. Just so many thanks to her for being such an amazing collaborative partner on this; I couldn't have even begun to piece this together without her. Hopefully I can do some justice to the 'verse we've been discussing for the past five months :')
> 
> Not being any sort of religious or Turkish or Israeli I've tried to do as much research as I could in a short window and hopefully have treated everything respectfully, however I am a white agnostic American. If I've fucked anything up I'm sorry and that's on me for trying to do this with only three weeks to research and write; if there's anything that is misinformed or offensive let me know and I'll either change it or take it down.

After three days of rain, the sunshine was a welcome change even in spite of the cold. Eren’s face was tipped up to the sun and Levi’s cheeks and nose tinged pink after a full day out in the cold wandering around Yoyogi Park as they made their way down the street heading south towards Shibuya when Eren paused, grinning as he caught site of a storefront and crouching slightly. A corgi stared out at them from behind the glass, its tongue lolling as it wagged its stub of a tail. Eren straightened up and turned, expecting Levi to be beside him and finding that he was standing at the edge of the curb, almost in the street and frowning at his shoes.

“Levi?” Eren caught Levi’s attention, his eyes darting up to the storefront’s sign – Dog-Heart – before looking away again. “Is something wrong?”

“I don’t like dogs.”

“You never said anything before.” Levi gave a tight shrug and turned away slightly, body in profile. “I’ve shown you a ton of cute dog videos and photos.”

“That’s different.” He waited until Eren was beside him again, their elbows brushing as they continued to walk. “They’re on a screen, not in front of me.”

“And when I’ve brought up wanting a dog?”

“My building doesn’t allow dogs and it’s not like you can have a pet while staying with the Ackermans.” Levi paused and ducked his head. “Also that’s not the sort of thing we’d be considering right now.”

“Why not?”

“Because… just because.” A flush spread across his face making his cold-pinked face even redder as Eren let out a laugh, brushing his fingers against Levi’s as they continued to walk.

 

* * *

“Can we go now?” Levi let out a long sigh as Eren continued to pace up and down the aisle. “You do this every time we come here. They don’t have it; they _never_ have it.”

“I like to at least check.”

“We always come in and we always leave empty-handed. At least try one of the other cheeses.”

“It’s not the same.”

“You’ve been here for a few months now, you need to get used to it at some point.” He gave Eren a fond smile even as he pouted.

“Either you put up with me pining for cheese or be ready to get a call from customs that I’ve been caught smuggling cheese through Narita.” Levi raised an eyebrow at Eren.

“Would you really go that far?” The light flush that spread across Eren’s face and neck looked out of place in the cool evening air.

“Have I told you about the time that I smuggled kasseri into Austria?”

 

* * *

Eren wasn’t entirely sure what had woken him but in his half-wakefulness he tried to orient himself; there was no ezan, no guttural tones, no almost-familiar syllables. Through the bright gap in the curtains there was no ancient stonework or minarets, no classical architecture, no flashing signs and crossing wires. Outside he finally picked up the unfamiliar siren sound, the flapping and cooing of pigeons and the gray piles of snow overtaking the sidewalk below. Finally in the present Eren looked down at Levi, his body splayed out across Eren’s chest, breathing shallowly and his body twitching as his hands clenched at Eren’s sleep shirt. Eren shifted so that he could place a comforting hand lightly on Levi’s shoulder as he had a full body shudder, letting out a plaintive noise before tensing up and going still, his eyes opening briefly only to close again.

“They were just kids.” The words were tense and hushed, a pained crease appeared between Levi’s eyebrows. “Just kids throwing stones and we were –” He cut himself off and Eren wrapped his arms tightly around Levi now, pulling him close and dragging the both of them further under the comforter.

 

* * *

They sat together at Levi’s table, steam drifting off of their teacups. Neither of them spoke, the ticking of the wall clock and the muffled evening traffic outside filling the emptiness. Moments of silence passed and Levi sighed, tipping his head up to frown at the ceiling before letting his head tilt down again so that he was facing forward. He took a deep breath to steady himself and began to speak at the same time as Eren.

“I have to tell you –”

“There’s something I need to –” They both cut themselves off, Eren giving Levi a nervous smile as they lapsed into silence again. Hands fisting in his lap, Eren took in a deep steadying breath and spoke again.

“I got into the engineering master’s program at Cooper Union; Fulbright and everything.” Eren dropped his gaze to focus on his teacup. “And I think I’m going to go.” His body tensed as he waited for Levi to respond. Of all the noises that Eren might have expected, laughter was not a sound that he expected to follow his announcement. And yet Levi was sitting across the table from him, head tilted forward into the palm of his hand as he shook his head.

“The company wants to transfer me to the US office in the fall.” He raised his head and drew his hand away from his face. “Where’s Cooper Union again?”

“New York City… um… Lower Manhattan?” Eren watched as Levi’s lips quirked into a smile.

“The US office is in Midtown – really close.” The smile on Eren’s face mirrored Levi’s as he shifted around the table and wrapped his arms around Levi, the both of them sliding and collapsing back onto the floor, Levi staring up at Eren.

“So then I’ve been panicking for the past two weeks for no reason?” He raised an eyebrow, giving Levi a challenging look and receiving a long sigh in return.

“I just found out yesterday. It’s not the sort of thing you tell someone over the phone so I waited until today.”

“Fair.” The both of them stretched out on the floor, legs tangling as Eren continued to lay on top of Levi. “When do they want you to move?”

“Not soon; October or November.” Levi reached a hand up to rest at the nape of Eren’s neck, stroking at the soft hair. “So not exactly perfect.”

“Levi, I was worried you were going to _break up with me_. A couple months apart is _fine_.”

“We’ll have to figure out –” Eren cut him off with a kiss, relishing Levi’s breathy sigh and giddy with the knowledge that Levi would be joining him in the US.

“We have months; focus on logistics later.”

“And what should I focus on instead?” Eren dipped his face close to Levi’s again so that their lips touched.

“Kissing me.”

“Gladly.”


End file.
